Abstract

The importance of knowledge as a key determinant of organisationalcompetitiveness and better performance is increasingly appreciated by bothacademics and practitioners. However, the concept of tacit knowledge still lackssufficient attention within the construction industry, despite the fact that properunderstanding and management of this resource is of immense importance forthe achievement of better organisational performance. As the initial steptowards the management of tacit knowledge, this paper examines the factorsaffecting tacit knowledge generation and utilisation in the construction industry.The study integrates theories of experiential learning, cognitive science andknowledge creation, in order to articulate the process of tacit knowledgegeneration and utilisation. The exploratory phase of the case study identifiedseveral factors affecting tacit knowledge generation and utilisation in anorganisational context in terms of Individual level: Intra-personal drivers;Group level: Inter-personal drivers; and Organisational level: Situational drivers.